Sit back and let "Pacific Rim" punch your inner critic to sleep.

Rating: 8/10 (5 December 2013)

I have finally seen this. Got this on blu-ray after the long wait (took some time to be released in the nordics).
At first, I thought that there were so many clichés that it would bother me. And it did to some extent. At first, I thought I've seen all these characters before. And I had. At first, I thought the CGI looked silly (hadn't seen the good parts yet) at times. I thought the soundtrack was vapid. I don't know where in the movie exactly I lost all my gripes and negativity. Possibly when I saw A GIANT ROBOT BEATING A GIANT SEA MONSTER IN THE HEAD WITH A GIANT THING (won't spoil it for you). Even the soundtrack got me excited after everything "clicked".
Throw your inner critic and inner hipster away to a fiery pit, and embrace this movie as what it is: "Pacific Rim" is a pure B-movie and an epitome of power fantasy with phenomenal execution. Remember the old monster/mech movies of the good old times? The ones you'd catch on TV or find from some VHS video store? At its heart "Pacific Rim" is exactly like that, only with a huge budget.
Now when I think of the characters, I love how many stereotypes they managed to fit in. We got a Jaeger pilot with a painful history and a personal loss, a dickhead hotshot pilot, a wise older pilot, an excited wannabe pilot, a commander, two funny scientists...it's hilarious. And in a good way. We see overused characters and relationships and for some magical reason, it isn't a bad thing. There's enough story and characters to give a reason for what is happening with some fitting humor as well.
I thought Charlie Hunnam was just OK, never been a huge fan although I do enjoy "Sons of Anarchy". Rinko Kikuchi, the female lead, was decent as well. For me the best performances came from Idris Elba who has a magical presence as well as Ron Perlman who is always a joy to watch. Whatever tired lines they may spout, I'm all in and I buy it every time. Max Martini was also one of the more charismatic actors here.
But the real characters...we know who they are, don't we? The Jaegers and the Kaiju(s). In laymen terms: GIANT ROBOTS AND GIANT SEA MONSTERS. And they are truly gigantic. Call me childish, but when I saw these "main characters" fighting each other, I was giggling, cheering and pumping my fists with my mouth open. The designs are wonderful, full of personality. Every Jaeger and Kaiju is beautiful and exciting to look at.
And the action itself...I don't know what to say. I mean, I've seen every "big" movie there is. I've seen some special effects in my life. But this was phenomenal. I'm at a loss for words. Everything was big and badass, got more big and badass, and even more big and badass than I could've hoped. And the fact that most of the huge battles happen in water just makes everything look that much cooler. The water effects are amazing and the setting really adds a wonderful touch to everything that happens. The sea, the rain, the lights of Jaegers and helicopters...it's like a beautiful, fantastic and violent dance. There is so much attention to detail, so much expression with angles, colors and light that I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it in huge-scaled fantasy action movie before. The more I watch it, the more I'm impressed. Visually, eleven out of ten.
Let's get some tired comparisons out of the way. This is not Transformers, even though both have giant robots. That's where the similarities end. Also on the huge-scaled action department, what "Transformers" didn't do right for me, this film really did. Same with the horrible "Battleship", it annoyed me as a whole more than it did anything else.
This movie on the other hand got me. Guillermo Del Toro does love this genre, and it really shows. There is a heart in this film. It's a childish heart, but it's also an honest heart. Without that certain love and respect for the old pioneers, "Pacific Rim" wouldn't have been this impressive. Luckily it is.
No false pretences here, no shoe-horned subplots that serve no purpose, no political messages either. Only giant creatures punching each other to death in a war of two worlds, and a satisfying ending on top of it.
"Pacific Rim" is possibly the most expensive B-movie ever made. And for me it is worth it. Thank you for this, mister Del Toro. My inner child is still giggling like an idiot. He certainly got his fix.